OZ (HBO series)

Cafe Society
21

For those curious about the denouement of the Beecher/Keller romance:

Beecher is released from prison. Keller calls him and pleads with Beecher to pick up a drup parcel for him. Beecher initially refuses but Keller persuades him to do it. Turns out that Keller set Beecher up so Keller wouldn’t lose him; Beecher is sentenced to a lengthy stay in prison. Beecher, furious at the betrayal and loss of freedom, refuses to return to Keller, so Keller jumps to his death from the second story railing. The last shot of the final episode shows Beecher and other prisoners being transferred to a new prison as OZ is closed down.

22

I was also amused by the parole hearings that came out of nowhere. Typically, a few characters would be chatting and one would mention how they wanted some other character killed. Then a member of the group would say “I can’t get involved in that, I got a parole hearing coming up.”

You do? Weren’t you sentenced to, like, 138 years, and didn’t you gouge a guard’s eyes out a while back?

23

It seems people are sent to jail within days of committing their crimes. Cyril kills a guy and is caught, arrested, tried, convicted, and imprisoned within, like, a couple of weeks. Or at least a couple of episodes. Too bad there aren’t date stamps on the opening scenes.

24

DEFINITELY watch season 1. I remember seeing Oz for the first time and kissing my TV (a while after I asked the typical first timer’s questions, “So, is he gay?” and promptly got laughed at). Some of the best damn writing and acting on television. Ever. They should have won at least a dozen emmys, but I doubt most of the judges could sit through an episode long enough to realize that Lee Tergesen is (was) the best actor on television.
…until it all went to hell. I always liked how it was a soap opera on a crack and speed cocktail, but give me a break. A cell phone in a prison? My phone won’t work when I’m standing in a doorway. Medical experiments?
I didn’t really watch the last seasons, except for the very last episode. Almost wish I hadn’t. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it for anyone- it manages to do that quite well on its own. What a tragedy.
Oh, for some funny, detailed commentary on the show, check out the section at televisionwithoutpity.com.

25

I like “Oz”, but I do have one serious problem with it: the theme music. It makes my dog cry. I don’t know what it is about it, but even if she’s asleep when the program starts, the music will cause her to wake up crying. She won’t stop until the music stops or until I mercifully hit the mute button. She never reacts this way to anything else, be it audio, video or real life. Just “Oz”.

26

I was dissapointed by “Oz.” I didn’t feel like it began to match the realism/complexity/witing of “Homicide.”

27

I thought that Keller had been pushed to the rail during an argument with Beecher, and fell over the railing, as Beecher tried to save him.

28

Do you know what city Oz is supposed to be set in?

29

They go out of their way to avoid naming a specific state (kinda like The Simpsons). They did eliminate one state, Illinois, by having the show’s fictional governor describe their real-life governor, George Ryan, as an “asshole”.

Most of the actors, though, are based in New York, hence their constantly popping up on NYC-based shows like Law & Order and it’s spinoffs, as well as Third Watch. I’m not sure if that helps, though.

30

I thought Oz was in Maryland, close to Baltimore as that’s where Tom Fontana seems to set all his shows (Homicide, The Wire).

31

Am I the only one who’s been confused by the jumping storylines? I love the show and have been getting it on video from the library (I don’t get HBO), but have noticed that the storylines are all over the place. Is this just poetic license on the part of the writer?

Also, I’m only part way into season two, so spoiler boxes are appreciated! :slight_smile:

32

Nevermind my question, I think I figured out what the problem is. The library has seasons one and two on tape and both sets of tapes are labeled 1-8. I think some of the tapes got switched in the boxes but since the numbering was correct, no one noticed. :smack: Jeez, now I have to go back and find the actual episodes 7 and 8 from season one, because I think I saw the last two of season two.

33

OZ is the shiznit. In my opinion, it never jumped the shark (though it came pretty close a time or two). But OZ on its worst day is still better that 90% of television on it’s best day.

Even in the much maligned final season, there was tons of cool stuff going on, and I loved the final episode which:

did not wrap up in a nice neat little package, but continued setting up further plotlines, adding a more realistic air to the show

The characters really blossomed by the end. Beecher and Keller’s temptestuous romance comes to a shattering and controversial conclusion (was Keller pushed, or did he commit suicide? What was with his little smile as he died?), not to mention the oh-so-sexy chair-dance scene. The least likely candidate to be redeemed – Ryan O’Reily – finds the path to redemption. Alvarez succumbs to his demons and a six-foot-tall acid-wielding drag queen with a glass-eye, and Schillinger goes out in true Shakespearian fashion. Awesome.

34

Silvio, you are dead on when you describe it as “a soap opera in hell,” but that’s what I like about it. My only problem is that it often strains my willing suspension of disbelief. As gallows fodder pointed out, sometimes these characters simply do not act as remotely normal humans would. How many of those guards would come back after the riots? Why wouldn’t Gloria Nathan stay the hell away from Ryan O’Riely and how would she get past the fact that he is clearly a sociopath?

Which brings me to another point: when asked if she thinks Ryan O’Riely really loves her, Gloria says, “He loves me more than any other man ever will, and I have to live the rest of my life with that knowledge” or something like that. Likewise, we hear McManus saying something to Glynn, I think, about wanting to feel so great a passion as that felt by O’Riely for Gloria.

WTF? Haven’t any of these people (who work in a prison, for god’s sake, and should know better) heard of obsessive stalkers? I think O’Riely definitely qualifies as a stalker supreme, but Gloria doesn’t flee from him, which ccould so easily do. Rather, she romanticizes him, as does the feckless McManus (easily my least favorite character on the show, followed closely by Gloria). Is that a conceit the writers are trying to push to complexify or draw out the O’Riely/Nathan plotline, or what?

35

My take on it:

It looked to me like Keller went to embrace Beecher and went over the rail when Beecher moved to the side. Beecher had finally gotten wise to the fact that this relationship is the worst thing for him and was trying to reject Keller’s advances. I think it was a horrible accident that neither character wanted to happen.

36

Actually, I think that

Keller figured he would either get back with Beecher or die. He couldn’t imagine his life without Beecher.

Just my $0.02.

37

If someone doesn’t mind putting up another spoiler, what happens to Schillinger in the end?

38

Fionn:

He’s doing a production of Hamlet with Beecher, and Keller gives Beecher a real knife instead of a prop. Beecher stabs him, and he dies. This is quite ironic, since Schillinger thought he had a deal with Keller for him to get the real knife so he could kill Beecher.

Pretty fucked up if you ask me.

39

Yeah, that is pretty fucked up.

40

Allow me. I’ve always wanted to do a TV Without Pity-type review— AND I’m a sucker for spoiler boxes.

[spoiler]In the most ludicrous series of contrivances and coincidences that typify the storytelling of late series OZ, O’Reilly’s mom – the apparently independently wealthy volunteer music teacher – has the prison sponsor a retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet – or maybe MacBeth, or The Taming Of The Shrew. I promise you, it doesn’t matter. This annoying subplot is humorously presented over a few episodes apparently to ensure the storyline has absolutely no sense of poignancy or drama when the subplot reaches his climax. (Heh. I said “climax.”) Furthering the implausibilty to the farthest reaches of suspended belief, a series of accidents, deaths, thrown in the hole punishments and hospitalizations occur so that virtually all the original members of the troupe are gone, and the final two leads somehow end up being filled by hated arch-rivals Beecher and Schillenger, who take time off from tossing salads and killing each other’s family members to learn iamibic petameter.

Got it so far?

Keller(!!) is put in charge of props(!!) including the trick knife(!!) a move so blatantly stupid and painfully telegraphed that even congenitally retarded adult viewers in the HBO audience mutter, “Y’know this is some dumb shit.”

In the end, Keller (naturally) switches the knives. Schillenger dies on stage, killed by Beecher’s avenging hand.

Naturally, since they’ve killed off all the interesting brothers, some anonymous black guy cheeses to the camera, “That muthafucker is dead!” as soon as Schillenger hits the floor.

Naturally, the senior staff, watching from the audience, has their collective thumbs up their asses (whether its their own asses or the sphincter next door is sort of moot) so everyone sits around like this is normal. Which, for OZ, I guess it is.

Gouda. Wesleydale. A well-aged brie. One could whiff the cheese time zones away.[/spoiler]

I may have some details wrong, so feel free to correct me. I had to dredge this painful memory up from the recesses of my mind where I’d properly banished it.